Unadulterated Loathing
by bandgeek4evz
Summary: Abigail, Joanne's personal assistant, hires Maureen Johnson as Joanne's legal secretary. It's loathing at first sight but could that change over time?
1. Chapter 1

Joanne sighed when her secretary of two weeks came in early that morning and informed her she was quitting. It seemed impossible for her to keep a secretary at the firm. Elizabeth was the fifth one to quit this month. Now she needed to find someone else and she hoped this time they would stick around longer than a week or two. It was getting a bit ridiculous. She needed a secretary to keep all of her files straight. Ever since the secretaries first started quitting her filing system had become practically ruined. It wasn't exactly convenient for her and if something wasn't convenient for Joanne she made sure things weren't convenient for anyone else either.

"Abigail," she called to the woman just outside her office. "I need you to look through the secretary applications on file and call one of them. Tell them they're hired immediately. Elizabeth just quit. Big surprise, huh? Maybe the next one will stay at least three weeks," she said with some bitterness in her voice.

The young woman rushed into the office as soon as she heard Joanne's voice. She only nodded at Joanne's request and then went to the filing cabinets to begin her new task. Abigail Conway was Joanne's personal assistant. It was her job to do everything Joanne was too busy to do and that was quite a lot of things she was in charge of. She hoped to become one of the lawyers at the firm and make something successful out of herself but in order to do that she had to put in her time as an assistant. Joanne said it was a good way to observe and learn about the life of a lawyer.

Soon enough she pulled a resume out of the folder filled with applications. The name on this one was Maureen Johnson. Abigail specifically remembered interviewing this woman two weeks earlier when they were hiring. She had been very friendly and charming. Her resume wasn't too impressive but she always chose the ones with impressive resumes and they were always the ones who ended up quitting. This time she was going to pick someone who wasn't exactly what they were looking for. Maybe she would prove that an impressive resume wasn't everything .

She called the number given on the resume and thankfully the woman picked up the phone.

"Hello. Is this Ms. Johnson?" She asked politely.

"Yes, it is. May I ask who's calling?" Maureen asked.

She was being unusually formal but that was probably because she had been expecting a call from one of the various jobs she had applied for.

"This is Abigail Conway, Ms. Joanne Jefferson's assistant. The secretary we hired two weeks ago just decided to quit the job this morning and Ms. Jefferson is in desperate need of a new one. Would you be interested in taking the job?"

"Definitely!" Maureen exclaimed, her voice full of happiness. Now she might actually be able to pay her share of the rent.

"That's fantastic, Ms. Johnson. Can you come in right now? Ms. Jefferson is rather desperate for a secretary so the sooner you can get here the better."

"Uhm, I guess I could come in right now. I think I remember where it is. I suppose I will be seeing you soon," she said, trying to sound professional still but the disappointment in her voice was clear. She obviously had other plans that her job now interfered with.

"See you soon," Abigail said before hanging up.

She was relieved she had found someone so quickly or else she would have had to encounter the wrath of an angry Joanne Jefferson. She had experienced that one too many times and did not wish for it to happen again.

"Fuck," Maureen muttered after she hung up the phone.

She had been waiting for someone to hire her but she didn't expect it to happen so suddenly. She had plans to hang out with her boyfriend, Mark, and his friends today. Thanks to her fabulous job those plans were now ruined. She didn't always like hanging out with her boyfriend because he never paid enough attention to her. It was always his camera. But she sure as hell preferred Mark over working.

She rummaged through her closet, looking for something professional to wear. Something that a secretary would wear. She searched for about thirty seconds before realizing she didn't have any clothes like that. She wasn't a professional person and she didn't dress like it. The closest thing she had to dress pants were black leather so she grabbed those and her favorite green blouse. It was a very revealing shirt but she loved it and it was the closest thing she had to dressy clothing.

She threw on the outfit and then looked in the mirror, making sure the clothes fit her body perfectly. The blouse hugged each of her flattering curves and the pants accentuated her ass and thighs.

"Perfect," she said with a smirk.

She knew it wasn't 'professional attire' but after the short notice she had been given for the job she didn't exactly have the best attitude. At the moment she didn't care what the people at her job said or thought about her. She knew she was the fabulous Maureen and that's all that mattered in her mind. After admiring herself in the mirror for a little while she left a note for Mark explaining why she couldn't hang out with him and then headed out the door.

When she finally found the right building she went inside and found the correct floor for the law firm. She knew it was right because it said Jefferson's Law Firm when she arrived. Jefferson was the person she was being a secretary for. She knew that much at least. As soon as she took a step forward out of the elevator nearly everyone's eyes were on her. The guys were clearly excited that there was a woman there that wasn't wearing some dumpy business suit. Finally there would be some eye candy for them. The women weren't so excited. They actually seemed disgusted that any woman in the professional world would come to work dressed like that. The thing was Maureen didn't see herself as part of the professional world. She was part of Maureen's world and nothing else mattered to her.

Abigail rushed forward when she saw the woman enter the firm. She was panicking already. She went ahead and picked the applicant who didn't have as many qualifications and now she got someone like this? Her luck she seemed to get worse as they went through secretaries.

"Hi, I'm Abigail Conway. Would you happen to be Maureen Johnson?" She asked curiously, part of her hoping it wasn't. This wasn't the woman she had in mind.

"Yes, I am," she told the woman. Her attitude was badly hidden in her voice.

Abigail only sighed. Maureen was proving to be a bad choice the more she found out about her.

"Well, Joanne would like to see you in her office. She wants to meet you and familiarize you with what your duties will be," she told her.

Maureen nodded and followed Abigail to Joanne's office. She was intrigued by the woman at first. She was very beautiful but she also had that stern look on her face. She was obviously a very serious person and Maureen didn't like that. She liked people who could be fun and have a sense of humor.

When Joanne saw Maureen she thought it was a joke at first. She had never seen anyone walk into her office looking like that. Not even her clients. She was insulted that anyone thought that would be acceptable attire when working in her office. This was a law firm not a night club.

"This is Maureen Johnson, Joanne. She's your new legal secretary," Abigail said quietly and scurried out of the office. She could tell she wasn't going to be happy with this woman and she wanted to be nowhere near the office just in case Joanne lost her temper.

Joanne was practically glaring at Maureen the entire time Abigail was introducing her.

"Miss Johnson," Joanne began once Abigail had left. "I know you have just been hired here but you should be aware that in the professional world you don't wear outfits like that. I strongly suggest you invest in a business suit if you'd like to keep this job. Do you understand?" She asked, her voice significantly louder than when she began to speak.

"Yeah, whatever. You expect me to be all prepared when you give me an hour's notice. That makes a whole lot of sense," she shot back with an eye roll.

If Joanne was glaring at her before she was now giving her the death stare. No one had ever spoken to her like this before and she didn't enjoy hearing it. If she wasn't so desperate for a secretary she would have fired the woman on the spot but considering the circumstances she would have to deal with her.

"Get out to your desk," she barked. "Abigail will show you what your job is. I don't think I can bear talking to you long enough to explain your duties. And let me inform you, Miss Johnson, if you don't straighten up your act you will no longer have a job. I don't wish to ever be spoken to with that attitude again. I thought it was common sense to speak to your boss with respect," she nearly yelled. "You're dismissed."

Joanne went back to her desk, her blood boiling with anger. She had never met someone who could make her that angry before. She didn't even think it was possible.

Maureen was angry as well. She had never met such an unbearable, condescending bitch before. The only reason she wasn't quitting on the spot was because she wanted to prove Joanne wrong. She wanted to show her that she wasn't some unprofessional tramp. She could do this job just as well as anyone else if not better. All she had to do was actually apply herself for once.


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter is kind of slow but I'm planning on adding some more interesting stuff into the next chapter. Keep reading and reviewing!**

By the end of the week Maureen had gotten the hang of her new job. She had learned how to organize Joanne's crazy filing system and she could actually file things pretty quickly. Her wardrobe was slowly becoming more and more professional with a little help from Abigail. She told her the stores to shop at and everything like that. Without Abigail she would have been completely lost. With all the progress she was making she thought she would have been on Joanne's good side but no such luck. It actually seemed like Joanne hated her more and more over time. And that made Maureen hate her more and more as well. It was a mutual loathing.

By five o'clock on Friday Maureen had all of Joanne's files reorganized the way she was told to so she thought she would be able to go home for the weekend. She was going to enjoy the weekend. She hadn't seen Mark since she first got hired and she hadn't even spoken to her friends. It was getting a bit ridiculous and Maureen knew she should have quit when she first realized what a slave driver Joanne was but there was nothing Maureen enjoyed more than proving someone wrong about her. She just thought she would have accomplished that by now.

"Joanne, I finished organizing all of your files," Maureen said with a matter of fact tone as she walked into her boss's office.

"Well, congratulations, Ms. Johnson," she said sarcastically. "Would you like a cookie for that?"

Maureen rolled her eyes. This routine was getting a bit old. She hated being treated this way. Joanne was almost as stubborn as she was.

"No, I would not like a cookie but I would like to go home for the weekend. I've been working all day without even a lunch break."

"Well, this job is not about getting a lunch break every day and going home at exactly five o'clock every day. At this law firm the work is hard and the hours are long. If you don't like it then feel free to leave right now but don't plan on coming back," Joanne told her.

Usually she didn't treat her new employees like this but for some reason Maureen always rubbed her the wrong way. She didn't want to treat Maureen fairly or admit how well she was doing her.

"I know the work here is hard but I don't understand why I should have to work extra hours if I already got everything done that you asked me to. Your files are more organized now than they have been in months. Abigail said so herself."

Joanne knew Maureen was right and she also knew she was being impossible. She had been known to have high demands before but never like this. She was beginning to think she was a bit ridiculous herself.

"Fine, then. Go home. I expect to see you here bright and early Monday morning though," she told her before looking back down at the papers on her desk.

Maureen smirked as she left the firm. That was the closest she had been to getting any sort of recognition from Joanne all week. She wanted more than that though. She wanted Joanne to come right out and admit that she was a good secretary. She knew that wasn't bound to happen anytime soon but she was going to try her hardest to make it happen. In a weird way Joanne was making her an impressive employee. She had never worked this hard in her life and she was realizing she was actually capable of a lot.

She was happy to be going home though. Her brain was about to explode from how much she had used it this week. She sighed with relief when she arrived back at the loft. Mark was actually there waiting for her instead of being out with his camera.

"It's nice to see you're actually home for once," Mark commented, his voice full of resentment. He was obviously a little upset that he hadn't seen much of his girlfriend lately but that's how Maureen felt every time he went out and started filming.

"Sorry, Marky. I've been working though. I made a lot of progress at my job this week. The boss is a monster though. She yelled at me my first minute on the job pretty much. She was all up in my face and she's been like that all week even though I've been doing a great job. She actually let me come home on time today though," she said with a sigh as she sat down on the couch next to Mark and got comfortable in his arms.

Mark smiled faintly when the familiar scent of her shampoo was so close to him. He had missed that smell all week.

"Well, if your boss is so crazy and doesn't treat you right then why don't you just quit and find a better job?" He asked her.

Maureen sighed. He should know why she couldn't quit. There were a few reasons actually.

"Well, I'm not exactly a qualified person for many jobs. I'm lucky I got hired for this one, Mark. And I don't have time to wait for someone else to hire me. I need money so I can pay my share of the rent. And I also kind of like the challenge of proving my boss wrong. I mean, I hate her and everything but what could be better than showing her even though she really hates me, I'm a great secretary?"

Mark shook his head. Sometimes Maureen really confused him. If he hated his boss that much he would quit and he knew most normal people would but of course Maureen has to stick with it. Usually he would have been happy for her but not when her job was taking away from their time together.

"If you insist on keeping your job then why don't you go in there and talk to your boss? Tell her she's being unfair and you expect to be treated like a human being. Maybe then she'll treat you the way she treats the rest of her employees."

She considered Mark's suggestion and it wasn't such a bad idea. It would show Joanne that she was going to just take all of her sarcasm and negative comments and she was still going to try her hardest at the job.

"You're right, Mark. I should say something to her. In fact, I will on Monday morning. Thanks for the suggestion," she said with a smile, placing a kiss on his cheek.


	3. Chapter 3

On Monday morning Maureen reached over and hit the button on her alarm clock with a groan. She had enjoyed her two days off and she was not looking forward to going back to work at all but she knew if she was late Joanne was going to slaughter her so she dragged herself out of bed and started getting ready.

She put on the white business suit she had bought over the weekend and looked at herself in the mirror. It looked very classy, very sophisticated, very professional. Everything that Maureen wasn't. She sighed at the way the suit made her look like a stick figure instead of hugging each and every curve like her regular clothes did.

After putting on her makeup and doing her hair and then looking at herself in the mirror one last time Maureen figured she should start heading to work before Joanne killed her.

She was the first person to arrive at the office other than Joanne which surprised Maureen. She was never the first person to arrive anywhere. She was always the girl who was at least ten minutes late. This was the first place she had to be on time though. Everywhere else waited for her but the business world went on with or without her.

"Joanne, I'm here," she informed her boss, waiting in the doorway for her to give her demands to be met.

"Oh yay!" She exclaimed sarcastically, throwing in an eye roll.

When Maureen heard the sarcasm in her voice she remembered what Mark had told her to do on Friday night. She figured now was the perfect time to say something to her since they were the only two in the office right now.

"You know what, Joanne? I am so sick and tired of the way you treat me. You don't treat Abigail or any of the other employees like this so why do I get treated like shit? I know I had a rough start here but this is my first real job, give me a break. I've tried my hardest and we both know I'm progressing," she practically yelled. "You just won't admit it."

Joanne looked at Maureen while she was yelling at her and for once she wasn't glaring at the drama queen. She was actually listening to her and not chiming in with any of her sarcasm. When she finished speaking she took a few steps closer to where Maureen was standing against the door. She was all up in her face just like she had been when she first yelled at her but this time she did not yell. She pressed her lips hard against Maureen's for a few moments and then pulled back.

"Did you ever think that maybe I treat you like this to hide something?" She asked with no sarcasm in her voice for the first time since she met the diva. "You're the most attractive woman to ever enter this law firm. You're the only woman to enter this law firm with that much self confidence. I'm attracted to you, Maureen, but no one here knows I'm a lesbian. They would see me differently. I guess that secret's out now though," she said, backing away and trying to collect her thoughts.

Maureen was still in shock as Joanne backed away from her. She had just kissed her. Full on lip action. She had never been with a woman before but that kiss hadn't been half bad. Actually it had been a lot better than the average kiss she shared with Mark. She really couldn't believe that Joanne was a lesbian though. She didn't come off as that sort of person at all. And she never would have guessed from the way that she acted that she liked her! In a way it made sense though. To hide her feelings she just acted the exact opposite of how she felt.

"Go ahead, Maureen. Leave. Be disgusted by everything that just happened. Tell everyone in the firm what happened. I don't care," she said, near tears by now.

It was weird for Maureen to see Joanne so vulnerable now after seeing her as this monster for a week. She did feel bad for her though. She knew it had to be hard to hide what you were from everyone and to hide your feelings from people you were attracted to.

Instead of leaving like Joanne told her to she walked over to her and now she was the one kissing her this time. She was surprised by her own actions but she was always flirty and friendly with people. Never before with women but why not try something new? Mark wasn't exactly making her happy in their relationship so maybe a woman would do a better job of making her happy.

"Still want me to leave?" She asked the lawyer, stroking her cheek gently with a faint smile on her face.

Joanne smiled back and shook her head.

"No, I don't want you to leave," she said, looking down at the floor and then back into Maureen's eyes again. "I can't believe you kissed me back. I was awful to you, Maureen. I was pretty sure you hated me after some of the things I said to you."

"Well, I did hate you. I hated you a lot, to be honest. I mean here I was trying so hard to show you I could do a good job and it seemed like the harder I tried, the worse you treated me. But now that I know why I forgive you. I can't imagine what it would be like to have to hide what you are from everyone at work," she spoke softly.

"It is hard. You must know what it's like though, right? You must have been in the closet at one point or another."

Maureen bit down on her lip, not sure how to answer this question. She still didn't even know if she really liked girls. It was just something she had decided to try out a few moments ago. She wasn't sure of anything yet.

"Uhm, actually I'm straight. Or I was up until a few moments ago. I never thought about being with a girl but after kissing you I'm thinking it's something I'm willing to try out. That kiss with you was better than the kisses I share with my boyfriend," she said, letting out a tiny giggle.

Joanne's eyes widened when she discovered she was making Maureen reconsider her sexual orientation. And the girl had a boyfriend?! This was insane. She had never converted someone before and she didn't really know what to think. She didn't want to be the home wrecker of Maureen's current relationship but she also wanted to be with Maureen. She had finally found someone she could be herself around and she actually liked her back.

"Maureen, let's slow down here for a minute. You have a boyfriend and before this morning you thought you were straight. You can't jump into anything right now. I won't let you. You're obviously confused and need to do some thinking before anything happens. After work today you need to go home and really think about everything. Think about what your boyfriend means to you and things like that. Let me know when you've reached a final decision, okay?"

Maureen looked at her and nodded. She knew where Joanne was coming from but she also hated people telling her what she wanted. She wasn't going to yell at Joanne for that though because she knew she was just trying to be understanding. It was better than her taking advantage of this moment of vulnerability.

"Okay, Joanne," she said, leaning in and giving her one more kiss on the lips. "I'll think everything over and then get back to you," she told her before leaving Joanne's office and sitting down at her desk. There were now people filing into the firm but Maureen barely noticed them. Her mind was far away from the firm now.


	4. Chapter 4

That night Maureen went home with tons on her mind. Her situation now was much more frustrating than when she thought Joanne hated her. It was true that she had been looking for someone to save her from her relationship with Mark but she didn't expect that person to come in the form of a female lawyer. If Mark found out she was leaving him for a woman he would be devastated and Maureen didn't want that to happen. Even though she wasn't happy with their romantic relationship she was very happy with their friendship. She considered Mark to be her best friend and she didn't want to screw that up but she also didn't want to screw up her chances at finding a real romance.

That's when she knew she wouldn't be able to make this decision. She couldn't just have friendship OR romance. She needed both and she knew if she told Mark she wanted to be just friends then they would be best friends anymore. Things would be awkward and she didn't want that. So she decided she would have to be both Mark's girlfriend AND Joanne's girlfriend. Believe it or not she had never cheated before so she was nervous about it but she felt like she had no other choice.

When she walked into the loft Mark was unfortunately there to greet her. She wasn't really in the mood to talk to him because she felt guilty about kissing Joanne and she felt guilty about the decision she had made but at the same time she was satisfied with that decision because she was going to have the best of both worlds. She was hoping she would finally be happy.

"Hey, Mau. How was your day? Is your boss still being a crazy bitch?" He asked her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She backed out of his embrace and sat down on the couch.

"Uhm, today was confusing. My boss is still being a real bitch and it's really hard to deal with," she lied.

She definitely didn't think of Joanne as a bitch anymore. She was beginning to think of her as a lover but she wasn't going to tell Mark that. He would probably have a heart attack right then and there.

"Actually I had such a hard day today, I think I'm going to go to bed now. I really need my rest after going into the office so early this morning. Good night, Mark," she said, placing a kiss on his cheek and retreating to the bedroom.

"Good night, Mau," Mark called after her and sighed as she went into the bedroom. She had seemed a little different these past couple days. Maybe a little distant? But he was convincing himself it was just because she was stressed about her job. She couldn't actually being trying to distance herself from him, could she?

That night she had dreams Mark and Joanne finding out about each other because she was so nervous about trying out this whole cheating thing. She knew she would have to be sneaky and devious but she was good at that. The thing she wasn't so good at was keeping a secret. She would have to be extra careful not to blab to any of her and Mark's mutual friends about Joanne or her whole plan would be down the tubes.

She didn't get that much sleep that night because of her dreams and she was actually thankful when the morning came. She couldn't wait to tell Joanne she was going to be with her. She was just going to leave the part out about staying with Mark because Joanne didn't seem like the type of person who would approve of cheating. She was excited to get the rest of it off of her chest though. She needed someone to talk to about her newfound bisexuality and Joanne was the only person she knew that would understand.

She got ready for work, putting on a black business suit today instead of a white one. She didn't really care as much what she looked like today because she no longer had to impress Joanne. Obviously she had already impressed her last week if she had kissed her.

She went into work early again today so she would have some alone time with Joanne to talk about their new relationship.

"Good morning, Joanne," Maureen said with a smile as she walked into Joanne's office, shutting the door behind her.

Joanne looked up from her work and grinned when she saw the gorgeous drama queen standing in front of her.

"Hey you. Did you do some thinking last night?" She asked her curiously.

Maureen nodded.

"Yeah, actually, I did. I've decided that my boyfriend wasn't making me happy. We're best friends but not lovers and I need romance in my life. I've never been with a woman before but the men I've been with haven't made me happy yet so I'm willing to give it a try. I want to be with you, Joanne," she told her as she walked up to the lawyer and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me, Maureen. I was so afraid that you wouldn't be interested and I would have to deal with having a crush on my secretary for as long as you work here. The only thing is that we can't act like a couple around the office. There's a no dating policy around here so we have to be strictly professional here. Well, strictly professional when other people are around," she told her, leaning in and placing a kiss on the diva's lips.

Maureen giggled for a moment and then returned the kiss, fully enjoying it now that she wasn't completely confused.

"I'd love to stay in here with you all day, Joanne, but I hear people coming into the office so I should get out to my desk. I'll stay after hours with you tonight so we can spend some time together though, okay?" She asked with a smile.

Joanne nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds good. I can't wait."

Maureen smiled and kissed her one last time before going out to her desk to start her work day. She was looking forward to the work day being over more than ever now and for once she actually wanted to spend time with her boss.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I'm really sorry this chapter took so long! I've been super busy and I've had writers block. This chapter is short and not so good but I have some pretty good ideas for the next chapter! Reviews, please!

The day couldn't seem to go fast enough for either Maureen or Joanne. Both of them were looking forward to spending time together after hours too much. Although about halfway through the day Joanne found herself getting distracted from her fantasies because she noticed Maureen out at her desk flirting with Jeremy, the guy whose desk was next to Maureen's.

She immediately felt jealousy rush through her body but she knew she couldn't do anything about at that very moment. People in the office couldn't know about her and Maureen and if she went out there and made a big scene then they would know and she couldn't have that. She would just have to wait until after work to confront her about it.

While Joanne was distracted by Maureen's little flirtatious incident the whole day, Maureen continued flirting with other people in the office. Just a little harmless, casual flirting. In Maureen's eyes it wasn't even flirting because it was so much a part of her personality. Since it wasn't a big deal to her she didn't expect it to be a big deal for anyone else either. But clearly it was a big deal to everyone _except her._

By the end of the day Maureen was in a really good mood because everyone in the office was suddenly being nice to her, especially the men who loved her low-cut shirts. Joanne on the other hand was in an awful mood. When she was with someone she expected them to be faithful and not show interest in other people. Even though she and Maureen had just recently met and started having feelings for each other she still expected_ her_ to be faithful.

When nearly everyone had cleared out of the office Maureen went into Joanne's office with a smile on her face and walked up behind the layer, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"How was my favorite lawyer's day?" She asked, pressing a soft kiss to Joanne's cheek.

Joanne tensed up when she felt Maureen's arms around her. She still liked Maureen just as much as she had earlier but she was upset with her now and she wouldn't be able to be comfortable with her until they had talked about what happened. That's just how Joanne was in relationships. She liked to face the problems head on.

"What's wrong, Jo?" She asked with a pout when she noticed how tense she was.

"I saw you flirting with Jeremy and about a million other people out in the office today. What's up with that? I know we just got together and all but we're still together. You're supposed to be faithful to me."

Maureen stepped back from Joanne and looked at her with an arched brow. "Excuse me? I know I'm supposed to be faithful to you and I am. I'm a friendly girl, Joanne. I like to be nice to the people I talk to. I wasn't making out with anyone or anything. I didn't cheat on you," she told her.

She felt a little bit guilty as she was saying all of this because technically she was cheating on Joanne with Mark but that's not what they were talking about right now. They were talking about people in the office and she definitely wasn't cheating with any of those people. It was tiring enough to try and hide Mark and Joanne from each other. She couldn't imagine adding someone else into the mix. Not that she would want to. She liked Joanne a lot and Mark wasn't really even like her boyfriend anymore. Just a friend who thought he was her boyfriend.

"But you flirted! You led people on and if you're going to do that all the time I'm not going to be able to handle it. I don't want to go out on a date with you and worry if you're going to flirt with a waitress or someone near us. I want your attention to be on me and only me," she told her softly, seeing that Maureen was getting a little worked up over this.

"Joanne, how can all of my attention be on you at work when we can't even act like we're together? Trust me, if I could I would put all of my attention on you but that's not possible at work," she explained.

"Oh, so when your attention can't be on me it has to be on someone else? What are you going to do if I have to go on a trip for a week or something like that? Hook up with someone else while I'm gone and then get rid of them by the time I get back?"

Maureen just rolled her eyes. Joanne was totally overreacting to the whole situation. Mark had never freaked out like this. She didn't really understand why it was such a big deal to Joanne but she was going to deal with it right now.

"Joanne, it's not even like that and I think you know it's not like that. I like you a lot but if you're going to flip out every time I associate with another human being then I can't deal with it. Call me or something when you're ready to realize you're not the only person on the whole earth that I'm allowed to talk to," she mumbled before turning and walking out the door.

She was a little upset that they didn't get to have their romantic evening alone but she was glad she saw the jealous side of Joanne before things got too serious. That way if Joanne decided not to call her ever again she wouldn't be too hurt by it. She didn't feel like she did anything wrong but she was starting to question it after the way Joanne handled it. She was thinking about going back and apologizing but she had too much pride for that. She just hoped Joanne would call her soon and they could both apologize.


	6. Chapter 6

**I am SO sorry this chapter took forever. I'm done with school now though. I've still got work but I should be a little less busy so updates should be somewhat quicker! I hope you all like the new chapter! Reviews are nice. **

When Joanne got home later that night she began to wonder if she shouldn't have gotten so angry with Maureen. She missed her already and could not stop thinking about the romantic evening they could have been having together if she wouldn't have reacted the way she did. She needed to see her. She knew she wouldn't get any sleep tonight if she didn't see her new lover so she decided to go to Maureen's place. She had never been there before but she had her address on file since she was one of her employees.

After she stopped by the firm to get Maureen's address she grabbed a cab to take her to Maureen's. She wanted to make sure she got there soon so Maureen would actually be awake when she arrived.

She got there within the next half hour and rushed up the steps to the correct loft number before knocking on the cold metal door. She was expecting a gorgeous, curvy woman with beautiful brown curly locks of hair to answer the door but instead it was a small man with blonde hair and glasses.

"Hello. Who are you?" The man asked curiously, not recognizing the woman at the door.

"Me? I'm Joanne. I'm here to see my girlfriend, Maureen. Who the hell are you?" She asked, her voice full of just as much curiosity as his had been.

"I'm Mark, her boyfriend. And you're her WHAT?!" Mark practically shouted. This had to be a mistake. Maureen wasn't a lesbian. Or bi…. Was she?

"You must be mistaken, Joanne. Maureen can't have a girlfriend. I mean I'm her boyfriend and she's straight. She wouldn't do that," he explained to her.

"I think we both need to sit down and talk to Maureen right now, Mark. I'm her boss at work and we kind of got involved with each other over this past week. I don't know what she's been telling you but she did tell me she wanted to be my girlfriend," Joanne told him. She wanted to blow up and react right now but she couldn't blow up on Mark. It wasn't his fault. He was clearly just as surprised as she was, if not more.

Mark stormed away from the door, leaving it open and went into his and Maureen's room which she had not been sharing with him lately. Now he understood why she had been shutting herself off from him. She was with someone else.

"Maureen, wake the fuck up right now," Mark demanded, getting angry with her for the first time ever.

Maureen groggily sat up and looked over at him, seeing the anger in his face.

"Mark, what the FUCK? Why are you waking me up? You know I've been stressed out with work and I need my sleep. Leave me the fuck alone," she told him, covering back up and trying to fall back asleep.

"No, I'm not going to leave you the fuck alone. Your girlfriend is here," he told her, emphasizing the word girlfriend to see what she would do.

Sure enough she sat straight up when she heard what he said. Joanne was here? How fucking great. After she had just promised Joanne she wasn't a cheater she comes over and meets her boyfriend. This was going to be a hard mess to clean up. Even for Maureen Johnson.

"Did you think I would never find out? Did you think your girlfriend would never come over? Maureen, if you knew you were a lesbian then why didn't you just tell me? I would have understood more then than now. At least then you wouldn't have been cheating on me! You walked all over me."

Maureen sighed, knowing he was right. She should have told him about Joanne and ended things with him. But she had been afraid. Afraid that things wouldn't work out with Joanne and then she'd have no one. Afraid that Mark would get pissed and make her move out and she'd have no place to stay.

She didn't say anything to Mark because she honestly didn't know what to say or do. There was nothing she could do to change how she felt about Joanne and what she did to Mark. Instead she just got up and went out to the door to see Joanne. She would rather fix things with Joanne than fix things with Mark but she knew it would be a lot easier to fix things with Mark. Joanne wasn't the pushover that Mark was. She wasn't so easy to convince.

"Joanne… I'm sorry," she whispered, biting down on her lip. "I tried to tell him. I tried to break up with him but I didn't know how… I know I made a mistake but I'm really sorry. I still like you. I still want to be with you," she told her, gently placing her hand on Joanne's arm.

Joanne jerked her arm away from Maureen's touch, shaking her head.

"No, Maureen. Fuck no. I'm not going to do this with you. You just got done telling me you're not a cheater and you still have a boyfriend! You told me you broke up with him. You lied to me and more than once. I'm not staying with you just so you can lie and hurt me some more. I'm done with you," she said before angrily storming out of the loft.


End file.
